Capitals: Top 10 greatest forwards of all-time

#5 Mike Gartner

Mike Gartner is the most recent Caps player to have his number retired. He was drafted by the Capitals in the first round at fourth overall in 1979.

During his time in Washington there wasn’t a time where Gartner scored less than 30 goals. His first season saw him score 36 goals and add 32 assists for 68 points. Gartner won the team’s rookie and MVP awards at the end of the season. The next year in 1980-81 saw him score 48 goals and add 46 assists for 94 points.

Gartner added 35 goals and 45 assists for 80 points the next season then went on to score 38 and 40 goals respectively. In the 1984-85 season Gartner scored 50 goals. He added 35 goals and 40 assists for 75 points in 19-85-86.

In 1987-88, after a 41 goal season the previous year, Gartner scored 48 goals and added 33 assists for 81 points. The next year, Gartner had 26 goals and 29 assists for 55 points before he was traded midseason in March of 1989 to the Minnesota North Stars.

Gartner had his jersey number retired on Dec. 28, 2008. He is the last player to have his number retired by the Capitals. In 2001, Gartner was inducted into the Hockey Hall of Fame.

Gartner holds the NHL record for most consecutive 30-goal seasons with 15 which is tied by ironically Jaromir Jagr and Alex Ovechkin. He also has the NHL record for most 30 goal seasons with 17.